Leer & Rental Interviews | Matt Johnson (The The)

This interview took place at Summerhall in Edinburgh in late June, 2017.
Matt generously lent us a few hours that morning, at his exhibition - Radio Cineola: The Inertia Variations, to talk about how he came across Thomas Leer's music in 1978, how they came to play together live at London's Marquee Club, and Thomas' role in the recording of The The's 1883 album, Soul Mining.
Huge thanks to Matt for his time, and apologies for the bad camera work at the beginning.
www.thethe.com
open.spotify.c...
www.discogs.co...

[@Foxiepawstotti]

He is and always will be, a genius and a huge part of the soundtrack to my life.

[@saskia6750]

same here !! :) x

[@davids736]

SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@PEmman100]

genius

[@j.477]

,,, nuff said ...

[@tinagarcia4117]

Same here

[@markparsons-u1u]

Genuinely nice guy, if we had people like him as politicians we'd be in a much better place.

[@Topnikko]

The good have no desire to be politicians.

[@jamesure2426]

​@@TopnikkoI like that !

[@shaker7804]

Soul Mining was a simply brilliant and wonderful album. A true classic!

[@dtg5909]

What a beautiful speaking voice he’s god. Mega talented man.

[@wigglycharlie7451]

One of the best lyricists ever. I want "Love is stronger than death" to be played at my funeral.

[@ubertuber66]

Was played at my mom's.

[@traceyneighbour3566]

Uncertain Smile is a Masterpiece 💜

[@EARLandPEARL-c3i]

His new lp is fantastic

[@The.Last.Guitar.Hero.]

Infected totally turned my music taste on its head when it came out

[@davids736]

Soul Mining changed my life...end of story.... :o)

[@DavidPye73]

Giant.

[@thefunpolice]

I am so ready for the release of Ensoulment in September.

[@cheswajda]

“Dusk” is the finest audio art ever created.

[@thefunpolice]

The Stranglers once released an album called _Aural Sculpture._ I have long felt that "aural sculpture" was the single best description of music I have ever come across.

[@stephensmitherman5243]

Soul Mining , wonderful album.

[@romanpolanski4928]

Indeed. An album for the ages.

[@regplasma7906]

Matt is a lovely guy and a genius to boot.Infected is still my fav album of all time.

[@blkhawk51]

Funny to read that last comment … exactly the soundtrack of my life!

[@Knuck_Knucks]

'Mind Bomb' could have been written today. Super relevant album

[@LordTurtlesHead]

The only thing that lets Mindbomb down is the album cover. I remember being so disappointed and it affected my love of it. Saying that, I absolutely love the album!

[@patrickmurphy1803]

THINK ITS ME FAVOURITE THE the ALBUM ,MAYBE

[@larrydanadavid2435]

Very true, The Beat(en) Generation especially. I hope a younger generation revisits Matt’s music.

[@scottnapier943]

34 years after it's release and Infected is still my favourite album, thank you Matt Johnson! Great Interview, thank you for sharing it!

[@dannystoker6829]

Thanks for watching, Scott

[@thefunpolice]

The Mercy Beat is a hypnotic track. Still listen to it regularly.

[@KuwaharaBMXRider]

I’m in my early fifties now. I remember buying soul mining in 83 then infected some years later and eventually found screaming blue soul. I literally played those albums daily. I still have the vinyls but I also bought them on cassette back them for my Walkman. Matt Johnson wasn’t simply a pop act he is a true artist. He communicated the world around him. I wish he could make a new true the the album I would be fascinated to hear his take on the world today. My son is in his twenties now and he’s a massive the the fan too!

[@Markeebee100]

Your wish comes true this September

[@paulconnelly4050]

Matt Johnson is a genius

[@teresanash7670]

So grateful for Matt Johnson & The The. Their music has been the soundtrack of some glorious and heinous parts of my life. It's a blessing to be able to turn on their music and sing and listen and fall into it, get lost....until it's time to face life again. Can't wait to see them in a couple months in Chicago ❤

[@thefunpolice]

Matt is one of the most consistently visionary and interesting creative talents of my lifetime. Some of his albums are timeless and that manifests as having the appearance of being almost prophetic. In that regard, Mind Bomb stands out to me, lyrically speaking it is utterly modern. I am trapped in two minds about his body of work. On the one hand I wish there were a lot more people capable of producing that kind of sophisticated brainfood. On the other hand, if it were more commonplace, Matt's work might not stand out as being so exceptional. Thanks, uploader. Excellent interview.

[@johnforde7735]

For someone who talks about doing something on his own, he has always been able to bring all the big guns to work on his projects.

[@shanesweeney3583]

Mind Bomb was the one for me. God bless Matt.

[@teresanash7670]

Me too! Such a wonderfully haunting album. Absolute masterpiece❤

[@kjellsverre668]

The infected video (the whole thing) made my jaw drop when I was young. I will always return to it from time to time. Soul mining, Infected and Mind bomb was constantly playing in my car. By coincidence I found a new Matt (Maeson) that somehow reminded me of Matt from that period. Anyone else?

[@RobertFernandez-yc9ub]

I still remember the first time listening to Infected in my college dorm room in 1987. Thank you, Matt!

[@Exmirror]

So great hearing about Johnson's collaborations with Leer. Private Plane still resonates with me today. I remember hearing Phil Oakey play that track at the beginning of a radio set he did a number of years back.

[@rogerhanson3744]

Saw The The performance on Saturday, you can not get a better gig, especially in a smaller venue. Just Brilliant

[@grahamlister5659]

Brilliant interview. Matt Johnson is a genius. Thanks for posting

[@harmonicresonanceproject]

Man this is a treasure trove to watch. Thank you for inspiring me Matt Johnson. Burning Blue Soul, I mean . . off the scale foundational.

[@boxster21]

Soul Mining was introduced to me by my first true love ❤️ and I am forever indebted

[@hsjshvwjsvsbs3357]

Greatest musician ever. I love this music. Nobody can do something like this doday. Poor kids. You will never experience good music . Just bullshit

[@bennyshambles]

The first The The 7” single and Matt Johnson’s “Burning Blue Flame” LP (both on 4AD) are a couple of my favorite overlooked Post-Punk gems. It’s great to hear him speak about that time and his influences, etc. It’s not surprising that he was inspired by “Private Plane”. His Gadgets band/project had a few excellent albums as well. “Giant” is my favorite track on Soul Mining and I often play it in DJ sets.

[@UncleDeadly1031]

Burning Blue Soul*

[@4409rjf]

Brings me back to the 80's while I was in the military.

[@g-plan9future204]

Matt Johnson and Thomas leer both underrated there music was great in the 80s

[@greatgigs975]

This is simply brilliant... so fabulous to hear Matt chatting so relaxed and candidly... and a helluva lot of interesting historical tidbits... Kudos and thanks so much for sharing...

[@dannystoker6829]

Thanks very much!

[@hmfc2005]

Thank you for this. Lovely interview, what a fabulous talent and a stellar human being Matt Johnson is.

[@MichaelBehrnsMiller]

Ever since I heard the single on the Some Bizarre compilation I bought when I was in England in 1985, I have felt a real connection to Matt that I can't even explain except to say that his music resonates with me beyond anything else I've ever heard. All of it. Thank you Matt!

[@smilereceive]

Legend.

[@graveyardghost2603]

Awesome artist. Great to hear of his experiences.

[@brokensemitone]

One of my favourite artists ever!

[@MediaFilter]

@1:16 "I wasn't a fan of punk" - I always knew Matt Johnson was a clever man, just from listening to his music and lyric. This confirms it. True indie.

[@gianca60]

Saw The The in the late Nineties when he made a gig in Florence Italy.

[@j.477]

,,, massive respect,, greatings from berlin ...

[@Caledonia747]

Absolute lyrical genius 👏👏👏👏

[@robinpatterson9433]

I really love DUSK, and wish they would do a rerelease on vinyl. The The are a exceptional band.

[@shadouk6737]

Would love a copy of Dusk on vinyl.

[@cemcb__]

Thank you for especially mind bomb..it had had a huge effect on me back when i was a young man

[@andrejzizek4290]

aaaaa, thx for this!

[@thedoc1210]

great interview

[@willwilderbeast4035]

genius and ahead of his time

[@chuffa1130]

Soul Mining, was such a wonderful record, I discovered it late in 1988 while I was in college, and I have to say I knew about The the from the infected album I think that was an '86 but I just wasn't into it,

[@newforestpixie5297]

The first song of Matts’ that I heard - probably in 1983 ( out in the sticks before my district was an extension of Greater London ) and understood exactly how he felt , was on a compilation that I found and have forgotten it’s title but the song I can’t find on here begins with “ It’s the first day of spring with clean air in the wind - and everything is as it should’ve been ...” All I get is the Bob Dylan Title 🙄🏴❤️thanks for this

[@anthonyristic]

Flesh and Bones is the name of the track

[@newforestpixie5297]

@@anthonyristic 👍😁❤️

[@davidorama6690]

Thanks for posting this interview. Fantastic.

[@pedrummer]

Love this man! Mind Bomb is da bomb!

[@BenZoet]

I instantly believe that Marc Almond would go berserk! Listen to him on Horse Rotorvator!

[@ChromosomeSyndicate]

Lol Kid Montana man where is the time . Kid Montana was at my home and i use still his Opcode midi box .

[@neilbatajohns3885]

He infected me from the get go

[@CaptainReedo40]

Wait, Matt Johnson can smile? What in the world is happening!

[@omtare2131]

all the bands die er nannte, sei es Throbbing Ghistle, Cabaret... Nice euch damals gehabt zu haben!. Und überhaupt der über- zeugte j.Schmidt, Amalie.Sag mir, wie geil dues noch findst

[@ChromosomeSyndicate]

So strange he talk about Kid Montana . I met Jean Marc many times .

[@banditto1969]

anybody know what "private play" he was talking about?

[@dannystoker6829]

Private Plane by Thomas Leer, released in 1978 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZbLgH57aduBfac&ab_channel=SeagreenSerenade

[@King-of-the-Bees]

Resonates so much with me. Recording secretly in the night Sotto Voce to avoid waking other occupants of the house.... finally got round to public release this year 35 years late. music.kzbin.info/door/jdgDbsKPx1icE052xrGfyw?feature=shared (Solo) And with band music.kzbin.info/door/ybybkemvKeJzqvp_quzvGA?feature=shared Many years worth of releases to come every week until we finish our re-union album later for an early 2025 release. Have a listen to some of these post-punk tracks. Loved your music since the first album which I bought because of the cover art 😂

[@markboon341]

No mention of Jools Holland?

[@peterhudson5748]

Giant isn’t favorite track in soul mining.when I learned my own soul

[@krisscanlon4051]

I always felt Matt was a frustrated progger trapped in a post punk world...voice sounds like Ian Anderson of Tull.

[@Oseanacoceanblue]

I wonder if he was mates with Steve millander and caberet Voltaire . Brilliant

[@thetruthhurts5902]

wow crap sound

[@dannystoker6829]

You're right, the truth does hurt. We did our best.

[@thefunpolice]

@@dannystoker6829 Eh, it's worth it. And as Matt himself says, things happening like the fridge switching on becomes part of the creative process. I'll take this interview warts and all over the alternative, which is to have nothing instead.